Would you play Houston this week?

[Sir Blue and Gold]

I think they would have started him under different circumstances, but:

Vaval and Lawson looked okay last week

Vaval and Lawson aren't hurt

Montreal will probably play a simple passing game with their QB situation. Most QBs read inside out, and so nothing fancy is needed from the corners this week. They just need to be sound defensively and play a clean game.

Therefore, Houston sits, gets a week couple weeks of practice before he plays which is ideal for someone who has been sitting at home no matter how good of shape he's in. We also need to decide where to play him. Vaval looked better at the boundary than the field but it's only a one game sample. Lawson looked better than Vaval at the field but neither were great. Houston is more of a boundary corner I think.

[Jesse]

I feel like Younger's play book is entirely different than Hall's. We use completely different formations and substitutions. I really don't think Houston has the familiarity that some of you think he does.

Just because we were forced into putting inexperienced players into roles due to injury doesn't mean we need to force more communication issues onto ourselves when Vaval/Lawson both played their roles fairly successfully last week.

[Blueforlife]

I feel like Younger's play book is entirely different than Hall's. We use completely different formations and substitutions. I really don't think Houston has the familiarity that some of you think he does.

Just because we were forced into putting inexperienced players into roles due to injury doesn't mean we need to force more communication issues onto ourselves when Vaval/Lawson both played their roles fairly successfully last week.

yup it's a different D and he needs time to get ready physically and mentally

I think they would have started him under different circumstances, but:

Vaval and Lawson looked okay last week

Vaval and Lawson aren't hurt

Montreal will probably play a simple passing game with their QB situation. Most QBs read inside out, and so nothing fancy is needed from the corners this week. They just need to be sound defensively and play a clean game.

Therefore, Houston sits, gets a week couple weeks of practice before he plays which is ideal for someone who has been sitting at home no matter how good of shape he's in. We also need to decide where to play him. Vaval looked better at the boundary than the field but it's only a one game sample. Lawson looked better than Vaval at the field but neither were great. Houston is more of a boundary corner I think.

I don't think the Bomber brass would rush a rusty vet into a starting roll in many cases

So D. Lawson could be released outright or sent back to PR after this week if he loses the battle to start when Houston returns?

I'm not sure if they would 1 game him for an extended period after 3 games. It will be interesting to see how he compares against Vaval as starting CB's this week.

We are not cutting him imo

Houston, we're in man coverage and your guy is ( fill in the blank ). Houston we're in zone, you've got the deep stuff, or you've got the short stuff. Houston you're on a CB blitz.

The guy has played football at a high level and he's played with Nichols, Holm and Kramdi. I don't see a significant issue with learning curve.

Like I said, Lawson played after a week back and he wouldn't have seen the entire DC playbook in TC.

Rookie DB's are inserted into games across the CFL in very short time frames when injuries occur.

Houston had been out of ball for a bit, rookie are generally coming from previously teams and have played more recently
Houston is a big asset that we need to ensure he can play all year not rushed for one game and Bomber brass agree

[Jesse]

Lawson is definitely getting cut if everyone is healthy. Numbers game and he's the lowest in the totem pole (or highest if you're that guy who insists on cultural accuracy).

[Blueforlife]

Lawson is definitely getting cut if everyone is healthy. Numbers game and he's the lowest in the totem pole (or highest if you're that guy who insists on cultural accuracy).

I think he will be on the PR, time will tell

[Blue In BC]

I think he will be on the PR, time will tell

I think PR as well but there is a chance they put him on the 1 game IR. Our use of the 1 game IR has been a little unusual. I didn't think they'd bump Woods or Peterson to the PR and would have put them on the 1 game IR instead.

The unknown is when Parker will return and that's the variable I'm struggling with at the moment. I'm not even sure it will clarify after this week between him and Vaval.

I don't see Vaval being bumped even if Logan excels and Lawson wins the open spot at CB.

There is always a " but  " though. Houston on means someone off the AR eventually. Assuming no new injuries, there are options that none of us want to see. Normally that would be a choice of one of the DI's and we know it can't be Castillo, so it falls to one of the other 3 or one of the current starting CB's ( Vaval or Lawson ).

[Blueforlife]

I think PR as well but there is a chance they put him on the 1 game IR. Our use of the 1 game IR has been a little unusual. I didn't think they'd bump Woods or Peterson to the PR and would have put them on the 1 game IR instead.

The unknown is when Parker will return and that's the variable I'm struggling with at the moment. I'm not even sure it will clarify after this week between him and Vaval.

I don't see Vaval being bumped even if Logan excels and Lawson wins the open spot at CB.

There is always a " but  " though. Houston on means someone off the AR eventually. Assuming no new injuries, there are options that none of us want to see. Normally that would be a choice of one of the DI's and we know it can't be Castillo, so it falls to one of the other 3 or one of the current starting CB's ( Vaval or Lawson ).

yes they will one game him for sure! turf toe LOL

[theaardvark]

If we get to the point where we have to make tough decisions about which DB to cut or can we demote a DB to the PR without them getting scooped, I'm very, very happy.

[The Zipp]

we have a nice long break between games - Thursday to Sunday so there will be some time for Houston to get into the defence playbook and get in shape.

[TecnoGenius]

I feel like Younger's play book is entirely different than Hall's. We use completely different formations and substitutions. I really don't think Houston has the familiarity that some of you think he does.

But Hall is the one that brought in match coverage.  And Younger continued the match coverage.  Just listen to how much Lapo talks about it.

Most teams never play match, and certainly not most of the game like we do.  (Ya we still do a reasonable amount of zone, but almost no "man".)

What Younger seems to have done is tinker a lot with where the LBers are and what they are doing.  And, yes, mess with the sets of who is out there.  And I think we do a lot more 2 saftey looks than under Hall.

The DL is kind of all over the place.  Last season was a ton of 3 man rush.  This season is a ton of normal 4.  However, we do about the same amount of blitzing (not much) as Hall, which is a bit odd.

We also don't spend as much time on smoke & mirrors.  We usually bring what we show.  We don't often have LBers/DBs faking coming then dropping.  Now that's Thorpe's M.O.!  I think we've simplified everything except the match scheme -- which is extremely complex in and of itself.

[blue_gold_84]

Lawson is definitely getting cut if everyone is healthy. Numbers game and he's the lowest in the totem pole (or highest if you're that guy who insists on cultural accuracy).

He had a pretty rough game - Hollins had him beat all night.

[Blue In BC]

He had a pretty rough game - Hollins had him beat all night.

Yes he had a horrible game. Also noting some of us wondered why we didn't go after Hollins when he was released earlier. Maybe we did and he choose the Als. 

[Sir Blue and Gold]

But Hall is the one that brought in match coverage.  And Younger continued the match coverage.  Just listen to how much Lapo talks about it.

Most teams never play match, and certainly not most of the game like we do.  (Ya we still do a reasonable amount of zone, but almost no "man".)

What Younger seems to have done is tinker a lot with where the LBers are and what they are doing.  And, yes, mess with the sets of who is out there.  And I think we do a lot more 2 saftey looks than under Hall.

The DL is kind of all over the place.  Last season was a ton of 3 man rush.  This season is a ton of normal 4.  However, we do about the same amount of blitzing (not much) as Hall, which is a bit odd.

We also don't spend as much time on smoke & mirrors.  We usually bring what we show.  We don't often have LBers/DBs faking coming then dropping.  Now that's Thorpe's M.O.!  I think we've simplified everything except the match scheme -- which is extremely complex in and of itself.

Sigh. Techno.

For those that aren't familiar, match coverage is a zone/man hybrid where defensive players have an area of the field (like zone) but when a receiver runs into it, they defend them like man.

Yes, Richie Hall's system ran lots of match. But ALL CFL teams run those concepts and match coverage in general has been strongly adopted by football defenses over the last 20 years in the NFL and NCAA (it works particularly well on the big CFL field where zones are bigger than is the US version of the game.)

Straight man concepts are getting called less and less and match/man/zone concepts, or half match half zone etc is the new normal and has been for at least a 10-15 years.

Hall isn't unusual here. He did modernize defense in Winnipeg though  (credit where it's due) but he was following trends that football everywhere was undergoing. Chris Jones was running match coverages since he broke in to the CFL as a coordinator in the early 2000s and by the time he was a head coach he was calling versions of it almost exclusively. For example.

[TecnoGenius]

Sigh. Techno.

For those that aren't familiar, match coverage is a zone/man hybrid where defensive players have an area of the field (like zone) but when a receiver runs into it, they defend them like man.
[...]
Hall isn't unusual here. He did modernize defense in Winnipeg though  (credit where it's due) but he was following trends that football everywhere was undergoing. Chris Jones was running match coverages since he broke in to the CFL as a coordinator in the early 2000s and by the time he was a head coach he was calling versions of it almost exclusively. For example.

Sort of.  But we run more of a man match than a zone match IMHO.  There's a lot more hand offs in what we do, a lot less zone follow / switch.  And once matched handoffs are pretty unlikely (especially on crossers where depth doesn't change).

I fully agree that C.Jones was the one to first make it a big thing in the CFL.  It's partially why his Ds had such early success.  I never said Hall invented it.

I maintain that no one in the CFL currently uses it as much as we do, and quite like we do.  It's overly complex and if not perfect has many deficiencies.  That's partially why we are having so many busts this season (so far).  Teams are getting better at exploiting the weaknesses, and our talent/brains hasn't caught up with the demands yet.  (OTT was doing some great REC crossing/handoff schemes out wide that really picked on our imperfect match, basically guaranteeing a REC being open even though it was 2 on 2.)

It also could be why we seem to be running more zone than, say, last year.  In theory we should always get better as a season progresses, as the newer DBs get accustomed to the intricacies.  That's the good news.

I don't claim to be an expert, but I know the basics and have fun studying what our D is doing.